TECHLINE

CUMMINS R2.8 FOR TOYOTA FJ55?

In 1988, I purchased a ’69 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ55 when I lived in Wyoming working for the Indian Health Service. It got 100 miles per quart of oil at the time, but it would go anywhere under any conditions, and cost me only $600, plus a lot of parts to repair it. I rebuilt the venerable but somewhat underpowered F engine in about 1992. That was 30 years ago. It has served me well but is showing its age.

My brother opened a shop where people rent space and work on cars to do restoration work. My wife was giving me the “do something with his vehicle or I’m going to call St. Vinnies to come pick it up” line. I just can’t let the beast go. It has become a symbol for my life, and even common in my dreams. So, time to bring it into 2022.

I am a physician, mechanically inclined but it is not my day job. My brother loves mechanics, is an engineer, and is certain I can turn this machine into a whiz bang Land Cruiser if I replace the engine with a Cummins 2.8L crate diesel.

I have become obsessed thinking about what I can do with this machine. When I went on vacation recently, I went to the magazine rack at Bi-Mart and picked up a pile of car magazines. I felt like after